"Former senior non-commissioned officer Michael Webber, 43, was jailed for six months by a military court in 2025 after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting Gunner Beck five months before her death. An inquest into the 19-year-old's death found the incident and the Army's failure to take appropriate action more than minimally contributed to her death."
"The first alleges that on July 13, 2021, and thereafter, you did not report the commission of an alleged sexual assault to the service police in respect of a suspect within the regiment of which you were regimental colonel. The second alleges that on a date in July 2021, you misreported what you had been told by Jaysley Beck to another person."
"Hook pleaded not guilty to one charge of the same offence. This alleges that on July 13, 2021 you did not treat information passed to yourself by Jaysley Beck in a manner consistent with its seriousness."
Colonel Samantha Shepherd and Major James Hook appeared at military court denying conduct prejudicial to good order and service discipline following the death of 19-year-old Gunner Jaysley Beck in 2021. Beck died by suicide after being sexually assaulted by senior non-commissioned officer Michael Webber, who was jailed for six months in 2025. Shepherd faces two charges: failing to report the alleged sexual assault to service police and misreporting information from Beck. Hook faces one charge of not treating Beck's information with appropriate seriousness. An inquest determined the assault and Army's inadequate response contributed to Beck's death. Trial is scheduled for September 14, with a case management hearing on June 23.
#military-justice #sexual-assault #institutional-accountability #suicide-prevention #armed-forces-misconduct
Read at www.independent.co.uk
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]